Division of Library and Information Services
   FLYP Forward 
November 2015
Volume 8, Issue 8
Newsletter Topics 
 
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Kudos to You! Programs Around the State
 

Quick Links

Florida Electronic Library

 

Florida Memory 

 

 Florida Library Webinars 

Special!

By signing up for a 

CSLP account, public youth services staff gain access to resources not included in the CSLP manuals.  

Upcoming Webinars

Library Grant Writing 101
11/19/15
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Easterm 
Ongoing Training
If you work in a Florida library, you are eligible to enroll in hundreds of self-paced courses offered through WebJunction's Skillport.

Navigate to Skillport. Complete all fields of the registration form, making sure to select "Florida Division of Library and Information Services" in the State Library Sponsor field.

Affirm and submit the form. You will receive an email acknowledging your request.
     
Within two working days, you will be notified that you have been approved.
     
Once approved, you can jump right in and start learning!

2015 Celebration Weeks and 
Promotional Events 
The links below will show you how to
 bring these promotions to your library. Don't forget to share your activities with others.

Info to Go




Every year, libraries are sent allotments to purchase LSTA approved items from the CSLP Upstart catalog. An Excel order form is also sent for you to complete and return with your selections.

In the past, Upstart catalogs were mailed out to each library system. Catalogs were not sent through the mail this year, but now you can look at items through the Upstart eCatalog. Here's how:
  • Log onto the CSLP website.
  • Click on the directory links on the right-hand side of the page. Select the Shop option. Click on the  CSLP Shop Order Link. You will be directed to the Upstart website.
  • For a quick review of an item, search by keyword or enter the item number in the search box at the top of the page.
  • Or, to browse, click on the eCatalog tab on the right side of the page. Once there, you can turn the pages and even enlarge each page to take a closer look at the items.
Once you've made your selections of LSTA approved items, return your Excel order form to jana.fine@dos.myflorida.com.

Please contact jana.fine@dos.myflorida.com for further assistance.  

YouTube       
Miss any Chat With Jana webinars? You can watch them on the Bureau of Library Development's YouTube channel. 

Facebook
Like us on Facebook. Check out all of the information submitted by library staff from around Florida.  
  
Twitter
FLYP is tweeting!
Are you following us?     
 
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

 
FLYP Workshop Dates
 
Please register for a FLYP workshop near you.

SEFLIN workshops presented by Monica Ladd
December 2, 2015 - Broward West Regional Library - Broward County  
December 10, 2015 - West Boynton Beach Branch - Palm Beach County 
December 30, 2015 - Blake Library - Martin County

NEFLIN workshops presented by Erin Arnold 
December 3, 2015 - Jacksonville Public Library, West Regional Library - Duval County 
December 14, 2015 - Ponte Vedra Beach Library - St. Johns County 
December 16, 2015 - Live Oak Public Library - Suwannee County 
December 18, 2015 - Titusville Public Library - Brevard County 
January 11, 2016 - Belleview Public Library - Marion County

TBLC workshops presented by Jonathan Dolce 
November 20, 2015 - Avon Park Library - Highlands County 
December 4, 2015 - Fort Pierce Library - Saint Lucie County 
January 22, 2016 - West Osceola Branch Library - Osceola County

TBLC workshops presented by Olivia Wilson and Katherine Kastanis
January 8, 2016 - East Hernando Branch Library - Hernando County 
January 15, 2016 - Rocky Bluff Library, Ellenton - Manatee County 
January 22, 2016 - Cagan Crossings Community Library - Lake County 
January 27, 2016 - St. Petersburg Public Library - Pinellas County 
January 29, 2016 - Bruton Memorial Library - Hillsborough County 

SWFLN workshops 
presented by Jonathan Dolce
December 18, 2015 - East County Regional Library - Lee County  
January 8, 2016 - South County Regional Library - Lee County 
 
White House Committee Names Five Teen Poets for Prestigious National Student Poets Program
 
  
The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities has announced the fourth annual class of the National Student Poets Program -- the nation's highest honor for youth poets. First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the teen poets' first reading of their original work in the White House as part of an appointment ceremony.

Each year, the National Student Poets Program selects five young writers who show great promise and invests in the talent of these students through mentorships and workshops on writing and leadership. The 2015 class of five student poets was selected from a national pool of more than 20,000 poetry submissions. Representing five different regions of the nation, the 2015 national student poets are:
  • Chasity Hale, age 16, of Miami, FL (Southeast Region)
  • De'John Hardges, age 16, of Cleveland, OH (Midwest Region)
  • Eileen Huang, age 15, of Lincroft, NJ (Northeast Region)
  • Anna Lance, age 17, of Anchorage, AK (West Region)
  • David Xiang, age 17, of Little Rock, AR (Southwest Region)
As a key component of their year-long ambassadorships, each of the 2015 national student poets will create, plan and execute community service projects in their respective regions. Each poet will receive an academic award of $5,000, funded by the Bernstein Family Foundation, and will serve as a resource for the U.S. Department of Education and the Library of Congress.
 
Letters About Literature  
The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress invites youth in grades
4 through 12 to write personal letters to authors for the Letters About Literature (LAL) contest, a national reading and writing promotion program. The letter can be to any author (living or dead), from any genre (fiction, nonfiction, contemporary or classic), explaining how that author's work changed the student's life or view of the world.
 
Submissions from grades 9 through 12 must be postmarked by December 4, 2015. Submissions from grades 4 through 8 must be postmarked by January 11, 2016. 
  
For more information, see the  Letters About Literature 2015-16 Guidelines at the Broward County Library's Center for the Book website.
 
The 23rd annual writing contest for youth is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with the Florida Center for the Book and the Broward County Library. 

Kudos to You! Programs Around the State


Summer 2015 Maker Boot Camp at the Seminole Community Library,  
St. Petersburg College (SPC), Seminole Campus in Pinellas County 
by Jill Storm
The Seminole Community Library in Seminole, Florida hosted a five-week Maker Boot Camp for kids ages 10 through 14 as part of their 2015 summer programming for youth. Collaborating with college staffers Paul Sutton, Technology Support Specialist and adjunct instructor, and Chad Mairn, Information Services Librarian, college professor and Innovation Lab Founder and Manager, the library staff introduced participants to a variety of maker technology activities. Each week centered around a different technology.
 
The program kicked off with Video Game Design, in which attendees were provided a brief history of gaming followed by an opportunity to try out some early video games, including playing Pac-Man with a traditional joy stick. The kids then created and tested a basic game, utilizing the software program Game Maker.
 
The remaining weeks' themes were Build a Synthesizer, 3-D Design and Printing, Basic Robotics, and Introduction to Circuitry and Electronics. Participants created, tested, collaborated on and played with a variety of technical programs. 
 
The library offered two general workshops to SPC's College for Kids program. The library also offered workshops to the general public and to a group of campers from the City of Seminole Recreation Center's summer camp program.
 
The City of Seminole Library is a joint-use facility in partnership with the St. Petersburg College, Seminole Campus. The library houses the Innovation Lab, a makerspace facility that is open to the general public and offers a variety of resources. For more information on the Innovation Lab, please email Chad Mairn at mairn.chad@spcollege.edu.

Jill Storm
  
Sneak Peek Book Reviews

Cooney, Caroline B. No Such Person. New York: Delacorte Press, 2015. 
Have you ever witnessed people who treat others badly getting the same treatment themselves? This book is almost an exercise in that occurrence. Lander behaves like little Miss Perfect, dismissive of everyone around her and caring only about herself. Miranda is the opposite -- the daydreaming, fun, babysitting little sister.

While hanging around their summer cottage on the river, Lander and Miranda witness the near drowning of a water skier. Miranda thinks she sees something that makes her believe that it was not an accident. Lander tells her not to be silly. Lander inexplicably falls head over heels in love with the guy driving the water ski boat. A week later, Lander is arrested for murder and we get to see her get a dose of being treated badly.

The characters are well written as the point of view alternates between Lander, in jail, and Miranda, attempting to figure out what happened. Throughout the book, I had a theory about what happened and in the end I was pleasantly surprised. While this book isn't an edge of your seat thriller, it is perfect to relax with at the beach or in a cottage by a river.
Bertozzi, Nick. Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey. New York: First Second, 2014.
When I first received this book, I opened it to a random page intending to admire the artwork. I made the mistake of reading the text on the page and burst into tears! Don't worry; it only gets better from there. In this graphic novel, we observe Shackleton's deadly obsession with the continent of Antarctica. After some unsuccessful attempts to be the first person to reach the South Pole, Shackleton decides instead to lead the first expedition across Antarctica. The majority of the book follows this adventure as Shackleton and his men fight valiantly to never lose ground or spirit. Shackleton vows to complete his journey without losing the life of a single man. 

Bertozzi has a definite comedic flair in his retelling of these historical events. And if his prose isn't enough to keep you interested, the stark illustrations of the Antarctic landscape will keep you turning pages. The humor refrains from ever being too crude and should be fine for most ages. The historical element stays interesting without getting too heavy or boring. While Shackleton vowed to keep every crew member alive, that dedication didn't extend to the animals on the trip, so do be prepared for some off-screen animal deaths. (Guess what my random page featured!) The dedication and resilience of these men is nothing short of inspiring, and Bertozzi's artistic rendition is more fun to read than any history text.
Green, Sara. Tech Icons: Bill Gates. New York: Bellwether Media, 2015.
Tech Icons: Bill Gates is an excellent, short biography for students or children who have a lower reading level. Each chapter contains only a few pages. The tougher words are printed in bright green and have corresponding definitions in the glossary in the back. A timeline and a resume reside in the back for quick reference. This is a great basic introduction to Bill Gates' life, but if you have a child who is looking for something more in-depth, you'll need to point them somewhere else. During the summer, schools can require reading lists to contain biographies, and ones like this are just right! Children dread the assignment, but I think books like this will make it fairly painless and probably enjoyable. 

Stephanie Tyson
Grant, Jacob. Little Bird's Bad Word. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2015.
This wonderfully illustrated book tells a story about the first time a parent hears their child utter a bad word. Little Bird learns it from his papa, and while Papa Bird does let him know that "blark" is "... not a word for little birds," Little Bird just can't wait to try it out on his friends. The friends are startled, speechless and not amused. Papa Bird explains to the group that Little Bird is learning that words can be hurtful, and he apologizes. Little Bird realizes that the word "sorry" is so much better than "blark". The expressions on the animals' faces convey everything a child needs to know about using bad words. The humor is geared more for the adults who will be reading the book with children. While the lesson is a valid one, it may be better as a one-on-one read, especially when the worm gets the last word in as he is being toted off by the birds, and that word is "Blark!"

Vega, Danielle. Survive the Night. New York: Razorbill/Penguin Group, 2015.
Danielle Vega channels Stephen King in the best way possible in her second YA horror novel. Her words leap and sizzle off the page and grab a hold of you until you've devoured every last one. Survive the Night follows Casey, a high school student fresh out of rehab for painkiller addiction. Casey and her "friends" find themselves at a rave in the NYC abandoned subway tunnels where "no one leaves until the night is over." By the end, you wonder if anyone will survive the night and the heinous events that seem to be taking place -- or are they just drug addled hallucinations? Are these people truly Casey's friends? The underlying lesson of trusting the wrong people comes across without being heavy-handed. Vega also writes 'tween adventure books under the name Ellie Rollins, and her first foray into YA horror, The Merciless, is currently being developed into a movie by Lionsgate.

Kelly Palma
kpalma@leegov.com
South County Regional Library, Lee County Library System


Hillenbrand, Will. All for a Dime. New York: Holiday House, 2015.
All for a Dime is about three friends: Mole, Bear and Skunk. So that they will have something to sell for Market Day, Mole digs worms, Bear picks blueberries and Skunk makes a perfume. On Market Day, the three friends set out their wares in hopes of making lots of money. Skunk and Mole have no customers and resort to selling their items to each other, trading their dime back and forth. Bear has lots of customers and makes lots of dimes, which he uses to buy ice cream for his friends. They put Bear's leftover blueberries on top of their ice cream, and all are happy.
 
A cute, fun story with great illustrations that is sure to please all ages. Children will learn that cooperation, sharing and helping each other can be more fun and important than making lots of money. I highly recommend this book. It is a great read-aloud story.

Linda Hitchcock
lhitchcock@mylakealfred.com
Lake Alfred Public Library, Polk County Library Cooperative


Christie, R. Gregory. Mousetropolis. New York: Holiday House, 2015.
City Mouse goes to the country, is scared of all the darkness and quiet, and can't sleep. He and Country Mouse decide to make a midnight run to the city for some fun. It's noisy, bright and full of cats, so both Mice head for home. R. Christie Gregory is a terrific illustrator and has won several awards. Here, he presents a cute and colorful remake of The City Mouse and The Country Mouse. 

Jeannie Chancellor
jchancellor@broward.org
Hollywood Branch Library, Broward County Libraries Division


Chibbaro, Julie. Into the Dangerous World. New York: Viking, 2015.
Ror, short for Aurora, lives in a commune with her parents and their friends. One night, her father commits suicide by torching their house. Ror, her sister and her mother barely escape with their lives and flee to Manhattan. Ror loves to draw and at great risk to herself soon joins a graffiti gang that spray paints objects in the city. The book contains art/drawings that sometimes match the text and sometimes don't. The profanity in the story may turn some people off from reading it. In all, it is a very good coming of age novel about finding one's niche in a contemporary world.
Florida Library Youth Program

FLYP Forward provides information about the Florida Library Youth Program and Florida's public libraries.

The Florida Library Youth Program is funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services.